Terrible Things
by marbletown
Summary: A storm looms ahead as Beth wakes up alone in an abandoned car.


Because I thought the idea of Beth losing her memory hadn't been done enough ;p

Oh! And please please PLEASE tell me if there are any typos/grammar errors/spelling mistakes that you notice :)

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Her eyes slowly fluttered open.

At first she couldn't make out her surroundings - a soft white light was encasing her, making her feel drowsy and her skin prickle with warmth. She tried focusing her eyes on something but found it rather difficult.

She was still lying down as she softly caressed the material she was laying on: wool - warm and patchy. The feeling of it triggered something and suddenly it was as though every single object in the room appeared out of thin air, just at the mere thought of it.

She sat up slowly. She knew this place; been here before. The white curtains flowed gently with the warm air – the room glowed softly, illuminated by a lazy midafternoon sun. She set her bare feet on the floor, stretching and then walking towards the window. Looking out she saw rows upon rows of golden crops, stretching out as far as her eye could see. She saw two dark haired children chasing each other – a boy and a girl. She could make out the delighted squeals of the girl as the boy tackled her to the ground and they rolled around, making a mess of her pretty Sunday dress.

A reassuring masculine voice suddenly resounded all around her. "Beth?" It called out.

She looked around her – not able to make out where the voice came from. "Be-eth" It was a voice filled with deep joy and pain and it was achingly familiar.

She reached her hand out towards the door handle wanting to follow this voice. The door creaked open and light came flooding into the room. She was momentarily stunned as she stepped outside – into a porch instead of a landing. What a strange house.

A creaking noise to her right made her turn and she saw an old man in rocking chair swaying back and forth.

"Beth" he said in that voice – eyes twinkling as he stretched out his hand towards her.

She slowly walked towards him as though entranced – taking his hand numbly and then kneeling next to him.

He stroked her cheek with the hand she was still holding. "Beth. I was looking for you"

Her throat suddenly felt tight and she didn't bother to fight the tears that came to her eyes. Her vision clouded over but she didn't bother blinking the tears away, still too entranced by this man.

"Me too" she heard herself whisper.

He frowned as he wiped away at the lonely tear that fell down her cheek. "What's the matter Bethy? Why are you sad?"

"I'm not sad. I am very, very happy" she said as even more tears fell.

The truth was that she was sad. But it was more like background noise compared to the strange joy she felt, as she kneeled next to this man, feeling safe and warm and loved. The sadness she felt was a deep sort of sadness – a sadness that settled deep in your bones and made your heart ache - a sadness that would never leave; the sort of sadness that lives with a person until they get old and weak - bearable but always there.

"Then why are you crying?" he said with fondness in his gentle smile.

"Because I'll never see you again" She didn't know why she said those words but the moment she uttered them she knew they were true.

"I am here now" She shook her head.

"But you won't be for long" she whispered.

"Well no one can stay put in the same place forever" he reasoned.

"But I want to. I want to stay here forever. With you"

He sighed. "You can always come and find me if you want. This isn't the end."

"No…" Beth lifted her head looking around dazedly "It isn't"

Outside, she could feel the warmth more acutely and encasing than in the bedroom. She could make out a barn a little way off as well as the golden crops swaying in the wind. The children were no longer there.

"Where are we?"

"In a summer's day not too long ago" the old man chuckled. She turned to look at him "Why, in that very same day you sat next to me just like this. In your sweet Sunday dress, singing a song from Church to me."

"I want to stay here with you" she said quietly, imploringly. She leaned her head against his knee still looking at him, not breaking eye contact in case he disappeared.

"Oh, Bethy" he sighed heavily "You and I both know you can't stay here."

"But I want to" she said petulantly. He merely smiled at her.

"Oh my sweet, sweet Beth." He leaned forwards cupping her face with in his warm, rough hands and kissing her forehead. She whimpered softly.

With his lips still pressed to her forehead he whispered "_A person can die only once_."

A heavy chill ran though her body - a cold sinking feeling making her limbs heavy and her stomach queasy. The warm light began to dissipate rapidly, darkness setting over her surroundings.

_Goodbye Bethy_

The old man was no longer there. The rickety chair swayed briskly as a cold heavy wind blew around her. She stepped out of the old porch, watching as dark black clouds loomed ahead -the storm approaching rapidly. Her heart beating rapidly against her ribcage she turned around and sprinted into the crops, trying to outrun the storm. A low, deep rumble shook the ground and Beth opened her eyes.

She bolted upright. Trembling and sweaty, taking deep gulping breaths. She tried to make sense of her surroundings, but it was so bizarre that her mind had trouble making sense of it. There was broken glass scattered around her. She was inside a vehicle that seemed to have been involved in a crash of sorts? But why was she alone in the backseat? Where was the driver? Had someone gone out for help when she was unconscious? She didn't remember a crash. She didn't even remember getting into a car with someone. And then with a rising panic she slowly realized that she couldn't remember anything before that either.

Her breathing was speeding up as she heard the rumbling of an approaching storm and she was trying very hard not to sob. She was alone, utterly alone. She felt the draft from the broken window seep into her bones, the first drops of rain making themselves known against the car roof. She shivered, already cold as the huge storm still loomed overhead.

She wrapped her arms around herself and pressed her eyes shut, trying to not let the panic set in, trying to remember something - anything._Please, oh, God. Anything._

_A person can die only once._

She wasn't sure why those words kept reverberating over and over again in her head. She tried to take another calming breath. _A person can die only once._ "Shut up!" she snapped. _**THUNK**_.

She jumped, startled, as something banged against the misted car window. Maybe a branch? She stretched out her hand and wiped away at the glass at the same time that- _**THUNK.**_

She couldn't scream, couldn't make any sound as she scrambled back. Utterly terrified, and astounded and…remembering.

"Oh" she said weakly.

She may not have known how she got there or where she was, but something in her gut, an instinct buried deep inside her, told her. _Walker._ She tried to reach for a knife that she felt should be by her side, but there was no knife there.

She smoothed out her hair with her sweaty palms "Ok. Ok" she whispered to herself soothingly and nodding as though she knew what she was going to do.

_A person can die only once._

Her eyes snapped towards the walker."Or so they say" she replied to the voice in her head.

Notes:

I seriously don't know whether to continue or not. That's why I tagged it bethyl - because it will turn into a bethyl fic if I decide to carry on writing it. If this gets more than 10 reviews I'll take it as a sign that you guys like it and I'll carry on with it :)


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